Is the youtube-myspace-twitter scene giving you trouble?
Let us help you answer that question.
It's entirely possible that many of the marketing challenges ailing you today are secretly rooted in this new consumer environment.
Simply put, consumers are behaving differently. And these new behaviors are causing marketing executives to rethink interactive strategy and how things are done.
We understand that the market may seem confounding — standard marketing tactics aren't delivering like they used to. But everything starts to make sense when you consider the specific changes to the market dynamics.
That's why we created this document, which does two things:
- Defines the new dynamics
- That's why we created this document, which does two things:
We're Blast Radius and as a course of daily life we help companies figure out how to maneuver the market: how to create a solid interactive strategy and how to be a survivor.
The Briefing
Companies once ruled corporate information with a mighty pen. You may yearn for those days, many do. Campaigns were wordsmithed by your marketing team. Key messages were front and center, product were elegantly hyped, and everything was packaged up just so. You orchestrated how and when information reached the market. The whole thing was beautiful in its containment.
Now the Internet has democratized and federated information.
Consumers freely share insight, data and personal opinions. They're chatting on discussion boards, authoring blogs and rating your products on consumer sites. They have feature ideas, product concepts, and clever critiques. They're using your products in unexpected ways. And they're telling the world about it. Yes, it's exactly as the term 'interactive' intends: they are engaging with your interactive strategy — with your brand.
But here's what's critical: the world is listening. The individual views of everyday people are consumed with zeal by the masses thanks to sites like YouTube, Digg and Del.icio.us. 63% of consumers do research online before they make buying decisions. 68% of people say 'a person like me' is the most credible source of information.
Every product imaginable is being discussed online in some context, probably right at this moment. There are places for basketball fans to discuss the shoes they wear on the local courts. There are places for do-it-yourselfers to comment on every product they use to fashion their dream home. From electronics to stuffed animals, from the mundane to the adrenalin-driven: information abounds.
Of course people are not only using the Web to engage en masse. They're using it to involve friends and family in everyday buying decisions. It takes no time at all to enclose a web link in an email and ask a trusted advisor to check it out. But consumers are also using instant messaging and social media sites like Facebook to involve friends and family in buying decisions. Maybe your target market is only moderately web-savvy — but you need to ask yourself: how web-savvy are their teens, adult kids, or friends at the office? Is your interactive strategy taking all of these people into close consideration?
Then there's the little matter of commoditization. It used to be that having an established brand and distribution channel really meant something. But the Internet lowered the barrier of entry to many markets and the product advancement race began. In attempt to stay competitive companies improved products, packing in new features. Next thing you knew, retailers introduced their own product lines in direct competition with manufacturers. Now consumers are faced with a flood of products, all of which seem quite the same.
Today the differences between your product and the next guy's might be far too subtle to communicate in an ad, and this is part of the reason ads just don't deliver leads like they used to. But it isn't the whole story.
The cost of gaining leads from print and TV ads is escalating because entertainment itself is taking new shape. Web sites like YouTube, MySpace, Second Life and Facebook have become mainstream sources of entertainment and information. People are getting the news, watching videos, playing games and socializing online — drawing them away from TV, newspapers and magazines and providing them with quiet refuge from the bombardment of traditional advertising.
And, perhaps even more importantly — traditional advertising is failing because today's consumers are disconnected from one-way forms of communication like TV and print. They're accustomed to interaction. They demand the right to respond and engage which likely means you need to adjust your interactive strategy.
And so, with all that said, here's a snapshot of the new market dynamics:
- Consumer voices are part of the ethos surrounding every brand
- People you don't know or understand are influencing your customers
- A flood of new product options makes it harder to differentiate
- Traditional advertising is on the decline as consumers flock online for entertainment
- Consumers are not paying attention to passive forms of mass advertising
What It Means
Now manufacturers of consumer goods are left with a puzzle: you must exist in a world where consumers demand a direct relationship with you, but you must do this in a way that doesn't infuriate your channel. Tricky.
Yet, this type of interactive strategy is possible.
It starts by re-evaluating how you see the web as it pertains to your business. The web is where things happen: a place to socialize, to debate, to discuss.
Rather than thinking about your marketing dollars primarily in terms of advertising spend, consider how to create an interactive strategy that actually engages people. Invite people to get involved and to be vocal — don't let that rattle you.
The crucial insight is that traditional marketing tactics are delivering weaker results because they are out of step with consumers who want to interact. TV and print campaigns are blasting information at people who simply aren't paying attention anymore.
When a brand becomes a forum for sharing interests and passions, people get interested. Customers turn into fans, and fans turn into advocates who spread the good word, doing more for your brand than any ad ever could.
Consumers are getting ready to buy 1
Consumers say they visit manufacturers' web sites because they intend to buy (from the manufacturer or a third-party retailer). When asked about their intent to purchase, consumers said:
Forrester Research 2007
Making it work
Nike
Nike created an interactive strategy for its brand and its Air Jordon line. It appeals to the athletic aspirations of amateur basketball players. Everyday people are now participating in an online training community called 'The Breakfast Club', modeled after a pro training club Michael Jordan used to belong to.
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Dell
Dell's interactive strategy is engaging consumers via Dell Ideastorm — an online community where consumers post ideas about new features to include in future Dell products. The company is incorporating the best ideas into its product plan.
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Ganz
Toy manufacturer, Ganz, found a way to make its business relevant to the 21st century consumer by introducing a web strategy that integrates with its product strategy. Now children have web versions of their favorite stuffed toys.
View website
9 Questions every marketing executive needs to ask
So how does your strategy measure up in this new climate? Here are 9 questions that will determine if your marketing program is out of step with the new dynamics:
Rate your strategy
What the results mean
Footnotes:
- SOURCE: Successful eCommerce Strategies of Manufacturers, by Lisa Bradner and Sucharita Mulpuru, Forrester Research, March 6, 2007.
- SOURCE: Edelman Trust Barometer, 2007.
